Pokemon: Johto Journey
by Hitaiga
Summary: Seratus and Alisha leave on a pokemon journey. Based roughly off both game and anime in terms of overall story.
1. Chapter 1 The Thief

**Pokemon: The Johto Journey**

**Chapter 1: The Thief**

The sun was barely rising when a small ray of shimmering light broke through the window onto the teen's face. Slowly the light blue eyes were exposed to the new day. "Is it morning already?" he asked himself. The realization soon hit him as he tried to scurry out of the Totodile blanket. He scampered and danced around the room trying to get his clothes on, often falling in the panicky rush.

"Honey? What are you doing up there?" a female voice asked from down the stairs.

"Trying to get ready to go see Professor Elm."

"Well, keep it down, you're waking everyone in New Bark Town ," she joked.

"Well, mom, how do I look?" he said with pride. She had shoulder-length brunette hair and deep brown eyes. She wore an Igglybuff apron and always seemed to have a smile.

She looked him over, "Seratus, I think you're finally ready to begin your own journey," she replied with a tear in her ere. She saw that he was wearing a dark tan pair of cargo shorts with a light blue T-shirt. He had a dark blue hat with a pokeball on the front, though it was hard to see as Seratus wore his hats backwards.

"Is it ok if I leave now to go see Professor Elm?

"Yes, but please come back after you get your pokemon. I'll have a few things ready for you to start your journey."

"Thanks, mom," he said, and he quickly ran out the door. The sun was now shining brightly over the land, and there is a small gentle breeze rustling the leaves. He turned away from the sun and ran down the dirt road passed a few houses. Approaching closely to Professor Elm's lab, he noticed another teen staring through the window. He had bright red hair and wore a dark jacket and dark pants as he tried to remain invisible.

"Good morning, Seratus," a young girl called out trying to catch him. "You can't get a pokemon without me seeing who you picked."

"Morning, Alisha" he replied as she was still running. Her long blonde hair whipped in the wind. Her green eyes matched that of the grass, and she wore a green button-up short-sleeved shirt with a black skirt that was just short of her knee caps. "What pokemon are you gonna pick?"

"Well, I'll show you," she said smiling. She held a small red and white ball and yelled, "Marill, come on out!" Suddenly a small bluish mouse appeared.

"Wait. When did you get a pokemon?"

I found a pokeball and picked it up. It wasn't used so, last night as I was walking by the beach and saw Marill. I figured I would toss the ball and see what happens, and I caught it. Since I already have a pokemon, Professor Elm has told me to come by this morning for a surprise."

"Wow. That's awesome. I'm thinking of going with a water type myself."

"What are you waiting for, go on in and get that Totodile then," she cheered.

Seratus turned toward the white door and pushed it opened. Alisha followed closely as they made their way to the back of the lab.

"Ahh, Seratus and Alisha. It's good to see you both on this fine morning. Alisha, how is Marill doing so far?"

"She is doing fine, Professor Elm. Here, take a look," she said picking up Marill.

"Marill Mar," the pokemon replied.

"That's fantastic," he replied as he patted Marill on the head. "The bond between pokemon and humans should be that of respect and compassion. So, Seratus," he continued as he shifted his eyes back on the boy, "are you ready to choose your pokemon?'

"You bet!"

"I have three pokeballs here, each with a pokemon inside. Do you want to see them, or do you know which one you want?"

"I choose, Totodile!"

"The water type," Elm said handing the pokeball over to Seratus. "Before you start your journey, I need a favor of both of you. Mr. Pokemon lives north of Cherryrove City on Route 30. He called about a huge discovery, though I predict it's another pokemon egg. If you can do this, I can gauge how you two will do as trainers.

"That sounds good to us," Seratus replied. "Totodile and I are gonna be unstoppable."

"Yeah, Professor Elm. Marill and I can go with Seratus to get that egg."

"Thank you both."

"We'll be back soon," they both yelled as they quickly got out the door. "Hey Seratus, you should go back home and tell your mom you're leaving. I'll do the same and meet you back here in fifteen minutes."

"Got it, Alisha," he said as he quickly ran back down the road back home. Panting, he called, "Mom, I'm back and I have my Totodile." He held the pokeball out and soon a short blue crocodile like creature appeared. It stood upright with large red fins going down the spine to the tail.

"I'm glad, honey. I packed your backpack and I bought you a pokegear," she said handing the black phone over. "You can add various cards to upgrade it. As of right now you can only call and check the map."

"Thanks mom. Professor Elm wanted Ailsha and I to go to Cherrygrove City to pick up a package for Professor Elm."

"Be careful honey, and don't forget to call every once in awhile."

"I won't mom. Totodile, return," he said as he held the pokeball back up and the creature obeyed and went back into the ball.

Alisha was sitting under an oak tree using her fingering to draw in the dirt. "Where is he, it doesn't take that long to say good-bye," she mumbled. As she kept drawing, she looked at the horizon waiting for Seratus to finally show up.

"BOO!" He yelled jumping from behind the tree.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed as she fell over.

"HA HA!" Seratus laughed as he held his stomach with his left hand and pointed with his right.

"That wasn't funny, Seratus. I will get you back," she said as she swung pitching him in the arm.

"I guess I did have that one coming, but it was so worth it. That expression on your face was priceless."

"Let's just get going. If we hurry, we should get to Cherrygrove City by noon."

The sun was peaking overhead when Seratus and Alisha found their way to Cherrygrove City.

"This place is much bigger than New Bark Town," Seratus commented.

"Yeah," Alisha agreed nodding her head. Now we just need to go north to find Mr. Pokemon's house."

"I'll race you. Last one there is a rotten Psyduck," Seratus yelled as he ran north.

"Hey, no fair!" She yelled trying to catch up.

Moments later, they both collided with a couple of men. "Ouch!" one of them said. "Why are you kids in a hurry for?"

"We are so sorry," Alisha replied. We were racing to see who could get to Mr. Pokemon's house."

"HA HA!" The men laughed. "I'm Mr. Pokemon."

"And I'm Professor Oak."

"Professor Elm sent us to retrieve the egg," Seratus said, still rubbing his shin.

"Follow me, and I'll get it for you."

Soon they arrived a small house. Mr. Pokemon turned the Squirtle knob and walked on in. "Here's the egg," he said picking up a whitish egg with small blue and red splotches.

"You said Professor Elm sent you?" Professor Oak asked. "If that's the case, you two should already have pokemon and be starting your own journey?"

"That's right, sir," Seratus replied. "I have Totodile and she has Marill."

"That's wonderful. This might be what they call fate, but I have something for the both of you to take on your journey. It's a Pokedex," he said handing each one a small red device. "This is a pokemon encyclopedia to help you on your journey. Go ahead and try it on your pokemon."

"Alright, I'll start. Marill ! Come on out."

The Pokedex responded, "Marill, the aquamouse pokemon. Using its tail as a float, it dives underwater. It likes eating plants that grow on river bottoms."

"Cool. Now it's my turn, Totodile!"

"Totodile, the big jaw pokemon. It is small but rough and tough. It won't hesitate to take a bite out of anything that moves."

"Reurn!" they both yelled.

"You see, that device will help you understand the pokemon around you as you travel," Professor Oak said. "Well, I need to be leaving. The radio show in Goldenrod City cannot wait. Will you keep me updated on what happens with the egg, Mr. Pokemon?"

"Of course Professor Oak. I also bet that these two want to get back to Professor Elm with that egg so they can start their adventure."

"Thank you so much Professor Oak," both yelled. "And Mr. Pokemon, we'll get this egg back to Professor Elm as soon as possible," Alisha continued receiving the egg.

Pika! Pika! Seratus reached for the Pokegear and answered, "hello?"

"Seratus, you and Alisha need to return to the lab quick. Someone broke in and stole a pokemon!"

"We're on our way! Alisha, someone broke into the lab and stole a pokemon. We should return to see if we can help."

"OK!"

They bolted back into Cherrygrove City and just as quick, collided with another person.

Seratus picked up the trainer's card and looked at the red hair teen. "Wait, are you the one who broke into the lab?"

"Yeah, I stole a pokemon and he's much stronger than that Totodile you picked."

"Let's have a battle, your pokemon against my Totodile."

"Fine. Chikorita, let's go!" A small green creature appeared. It walked on four legs and had a serpent like neck with a broad leaf coming out of its head.

Seratus held his Pokedex out, "Chikorita, the leaf pokemon. It uses the leaf on its head to determine the temperature and humidity. It loves to sunbathe."

"Totodile, go in for a scratch attack!" Totodile leapt into the air toward a Chikorita with a very stern look on her face and ice in her eyes.

"Heh," the thief laughed. "Razorleaf." Soon Chikorita flung a few leaves from the leaf on her head hitting Totodile right in the face. "Now, finish it off with tackle," and before Totodile could stand back up, Chikiorita used her head as a battering ram knocking out Totodile.

"Oh No! Totodile, you did very well," Seratus said as he recalled his fallen pokemon.

"Now get out of my way before I get serious," the thief boasted. "Pokemon is about power and a weak pokemon has no business being trained and poor and weak trainers like you should never have been given a pokemon. Now, I have to leave."

Seratus fell to the ground on his knees bent over. "It's not fair. It's not fair that the Chikorita has to be trained by that thief."

Alisha walked over and placed her hand on Seratus, "We cannot stop now. We must get this egg to Professor Elm before anything happens. We just have to hope that trainer will come to see pokemon as friends and not be so hard on them," she said trying to cheer Seratus up.

"Yeah. We cannot let the egg get stolen as well," he said standing back up. "Let's hurry to the lab."

The setting sun gave an orange glow over New Bark Town as Seratus and Alisha were walking down the path. Professor Elm was sitting on the step watching the horizon. "What's taking them so long?" he asked himself. "I can't believe that only Chikorita was stolen."

"Hey, Alisha. Is that Professor Elm sitting there?"

"Yeah. Hey Professor!"

"Uh?" Professor Elm replied somewhat startled that the teens were able to walk up without him realizing it. "You're back . Something terrible happened while you were gone."

"We know," Alisha replied. Seratus had a battle with him to try and save Chikorita. "He got away."

"It's my fault," Seratus said in a low voice. "I had a chance to save her and I was easily beaten."

"Hey. The important thing is you two are ok and you have the egg," Professor Elm said.

"His name is Silver if you want to get that Chikorita back."

"I don't think that will be possible. That Chikorita has probably already formed a bond with Silver and it's not fair to the pokemon to be stripped from its owner."

"Here's the egg, Professor," Alisha said handing the egg to Professor Elm.

"Thank you both for everything you have done. You true journey begins now and if you want to be a Pokemon Master, I suggest heading to Violet City and challenge the gym there. There are eight gyms in Johto. And to help you I will give you each some pokeballs to help you catch pokemon."

"Thanks," Alisha said fired up. "I say we leave now and try to get to Cherrgygrove City before it gets too late."

"Yeah," Seratus said. "I want to be the very best, like no one ever was."


	2. Chapter 2 Let's Give a Hoot for Hoothoot

**Chapter 2: Let's Give a Hoot for Hoothoot**

"Well, Seratus. Are you ready to start?" Alisha asked as she shifted her backpack. "We should get to Cherrygrove City in a few hours and we can spend the night there before heading to Violet City," she continued studying the Johto map.

"That sounds good. Perhaps we'll get some training done and be able to catch a pokemon on the way," Seratus replied. "I have a feeling I'll see Silver again, and when I do, I want to beat him."

"Settle down Seratus. Let's just get going."

The sun was already set, and yet there were still signs of light fighting against the darkness. The moon showed brightly as it quickly rose illuminating the gloomy area.

"We should be careful," Alisha remarked. "At night some bug pokemon come out and I cannot stand bugs."

"It's fine. If a bug pokemon attacks, Totodile and I will take it down."

"Just make sure it doesn't touch me."

The leaves rustled against the gentle breeze and echoes of "hoothoot" filled the sky. "I have an idea," Seratus asked. "Why don't we camp out here in the open and get used to it? I mean there are going to be times we won't be near a town for a few days and plus, it'll give us a chance to get to know our pokemon better."

"Yeah, that's true. Marill, come on out."

"You too, Totodile."

Marill soon jumped onto Alisha, "Marill!" it said trying to escape Totodile. Totodile looked at Marill, then opened its mouth. A jet of water exploded from the mouth shooting a stream against Marill knocking her off Alisha and getting both wet in the process.

"AHHH!" Alisha screamed as the cold water splashed all over her. "Tell that Totodile to quit spraying us with water gun!"

"Heh. He's just playing, aren't you Totodile?"

"Toto Dile!" it yelled, jumping up and down.

"Come here, Totodile."

Totodile waddled over to Seratus with a strange look on his face, "Toto?"

"I wanted to apologize for that last battle. I know if we work together, we'll be unbeatable. What do you say Totodile, feel like doing some training?"

"ToToDile" He shrieked as he flexed his arm to show off his strength.

"Great. See that tree?" Seratus said pointing to an apple tree. "Try using water gun to shoot down those apples."

Totodile bobbed his back and thrust it forward with his mouth open spraying a jet of water. The water shot across the air and quickly fell back to the earth as it dipped below the apples.

"That's ok, Totodile, "Seratus encouraged, "Try again."

Again, Totodile shot water with a little more force shaking a couple of the apples. The apples shook enough the stems broke allowing them to fall to the ground.

"Marill, its your time to shine," Alisha cheered. "Can you get them?"

"Marill Marill," she said as she scurried over.

"Tail whip them over here."

Marill turned her round little body and swung her tail hitting the apple sending it flying to Alisha. As Totodile squirted a few more down, Marill kept on swinging them over to Alisha.

"Ok, Seratus. We have enough for us."

"Ok. Totodile, you can stop now, we have plenty. You did great," Seratus said has he patted Totodile on his rough scaly head. Totodile flexed again as Seratus turned to go back to Alisha.

Totodile, quickly turned and shot another jet of water into the trees. "Totodile?"

"What's wrong Totodile?"

Totodile pointed to the brownish apple. "To..To..DILE" he yelled using his water gun attack. The water hit the apple directly knocking it out of the tree. It fell to the ground hard.

"Totodile, that's not an apple. That looks like a pokemon."

" I believe it's a Hoothoot, Seratus," Alisha commented getting the Pokedex out.

"Hoothoot, the owl Pokemon. It always stands on one foot. Even when attacked, it does not brace itself using both feet."

"Well," Seratus said, "Might as well through a pokeball and see what happens. "Go Pokeball!" He said tossing the ball toward the fallen pokemon. As the ball sailed through the air, a spider-like creature caught the ball in mid air, and soon many more surrounded the group and the Hoothoot. The creatures were green and on the body, two dots and a line, semi-representing a face.

"Are those Spinarak?" Alisha said, quivering and slowly ducking behind Seratus. She opened the Pokedex to make sure.

"Spinarak, the string spit pokemon. It lies still in the same pose for days in its web, waiting for its unsuspecting prey to wander close."

"What are they doing?" Seratus asked.

Soon, the Spinarak begin spitting out string from their mouths slowly wrapping the Hoothoot up.

"Hoothoot," it said weakly as it round body started to look more like a ball of white yarn.

"Seratus, let's get out of here before they mistaken us for food."

"No. I allowed Chikorita to get away, I won't let this Hoothoot become bug juice. Totodile, use water gun on the Spinarak."

"Toto," he replied getting into position. He focused his water gun on the Spinarak closest to the Hoothoot knocking it back against a tree. The other Spinarak quickly turned their attention to the water spraying Totodile. The four Spinarak soon had the Totodile surrounded. Two of the Spinarak opened their mouths and instead of the white thread, tiny white pins flew hitting the Totodile's body.

"Totodile, No! Are you ok?" Totodile braced itself from the impact and shrugged off the hit. "Yeah! Now try to use water gun again and spin in a circle."

"Toto," he yelled in agreement. He swung his tail to one side, and quickly jerked it back helping the Totodile spin in a circle. As he begin to spin, he shot water out again getting direct hits on three of the Spinarak, and accidently hitting the Hoothoot, wetting the thread-like material.

Hoothoot opened his eyes and saw the Totodile trying to take on the Spinarak attack. "Hoothoot," she yelled trying to flap her stubby wings. After a few moments of wiggling, she threw her wings opened and tore the webbing off of her body and took to the air. "Hoothoot!" she continued as she dove and used her body to hit the unsuspecting Spinarak.

"All right Hoothoot!" Seretus cheered. "Totodile, finish it off with scratch attack."

Totodile made a quick dart to the Spinarak who's attention was on the airborne Hoothoot. Just before Totodile could take his claws and swipe the Spinarak, it made a final move using its poison sting hitting Hoothoot in the wing. As the Spinarak fled, Seratus ran to catch Hoothoot.

"Oh no," Seratus muttered. "She's been poisoned."

"We need to get to Cherrygrove City now. If we run, we should be there in about half an hour. They have a Pokemon Center that can help that Hoothoot."

"OK. Totodile, good work, now return."

"You too Marill."

"I'll carry Hoothoot," Seratus said with a bit of panic in his voice.

The moon now shine brightly from overhead and the silence grew as they approached Cherrygrove City. The only light was a lamp post with a sign directing trainers to the Pokemon Center. They rushed through town ignoring the darkness until they stumbled upon a brightly lit building outlined in red.

"This must be the Pokemon Center. It's still open," Alisha noticed.

"Right," Seratus said rushing inside. "Hey! Can someone help this Hoothoot?"

"I can. What is wrong with it?" the woman said from behind a counter. She wore a light pink dress with an apron with a large bow in the back. Her red hair complimented the white nurse's hat she wore.

"Well, this Hoothoot was poisoned by a Spinarak."

"Well, give her to me and I'll see what I can do. You two should stay for the night and allow Hoothoot to rest after I give her some medicine."

"Thank you, miss…" Seratus stuttered.

"Oh, I'm Nurse Joy. Let me take Hoothoot back and get that wound fixed."

"Ok, we'll wait here."

"Seratus, are you ok?"Alisha looked over.

"Yeah, I just hope we weren't too late. It was my fault that Totodile shot her out of the tree and into the trap to begin with."

"It was just an accident. None us knew what was waiting for us in the dark. And hey, at least Totodile and Marill got some training out of it. All we can do now is wait."

"Yeah, you're right. As soon as she is better, I'll take her back to her home."

"Well, you might as well sleep. Nurse Joy can watch over Hoothoot."

"Nah. You go ahead. I'll see if I can get an update," he said as get stretched his legs to stand. He slowly walked to the door and peaked through the glass. Nurse Joy had a small pair of tweezers in her gloved fingers and carefully moved them closer to the spread wing of Hoothoot. Seratus could see a few needles imbedded into the skin. Systematically, she plucked them one by one and placed each needle into a small jar. In a few moments, she placed the tweezers down and picked up a bandage and started to slowly wrap the wing. He could see the Hoothoot silently cry out as Nurse Joy finished up wrapping the wing.

"She should be fine," as she looked up at Seratus. "By morning her wing should be good enough to fly. Now go get some rest."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," he said turning and walking back to the chair. Alisha was already sound asleep as Seratus crept into his spot next to her. He laid his head over to hers and soon everything was black.

"Chansey, chanse," the pokemon said as she tried to nudge Seratus awake.

"Huh? Is it morning already?" he said trying to rub his eyes as he stretched.

"Chansey!" she replied trying to arouse the groggy teen.

"Huh? Who are you?"

"That's a Chansey, Seratus," Alisha replied. "It stays here helping Nurse Joy with sick and injured pokemon."

"Chansey!"

Seratus reached for his Pokedex, and flipped it open, "Chansey, the egg pokemon. Chansey is a kindly pokemon that lays highly nutritious eggs and shares them with injured pokemon or people. Chansey was a tall and egg-shaped, pinkish pokemon with three sets of pig-tail like hair, with short stubby legs, arms and a tail. In her pouch was an egg.

"Chansey is Hoothoot ok?"

"Chansey!" she yelled nodding her head.

At that moment, Nurse Joy walked through the door holding Hoothoot. "Here you are, Seratus. Hoothoot should be at a hundred percent."

Seratus reached out to take Hoothoot, "I'm sorry that you got involved in that mess, but I'll take you home."

"Hoot," she said shaking her head. "Hoothoot hoo hoo hoot hoothoot."

"I think she wants to travel with you," Nurse Joy translated.

"HootHoot!" she said nodding.

"So, you want to come with us on our journey, Hoothoot?"

"HOOTHOOT!" she said snuggling up against Seratus's chest.

"Well, that's awesome!" Seratus cheered. "We're gonna make a great team," he continued as he took his free hand to reach for a pokeball. "Are you ready Hoothoot?"

"Hoothoot," she continued.

"Ok," he replied extending his arm so she could fly. As she hovered, flapping her renewed wing, Serartus tossed the pokeball toward the cheerful Hoothoot. "Go pokeBALL!" and soon the ball went through the air, getting a small bounce off Hoothoot as the ball opened capturing the small pokemon. The ball fell to the ground with the small red flashing light as the ball vibrated for a few moments. Just as quickly, the red light quit flickering and we off. "Alright, I caught a Hoothoot!" Seratus yelled.

"Congratulations, Seratus. She will be in good hands under your care," Nurse Joy replied.

"Yay! I'm so glad she is going to join us."

"Me too. And thank you, Nurse Joy for everything, and you too, Chansey."

"Well, Seratus, we should get going. We're still about a day and half away from our next goal, Violet City."

"Make sure to meet my cousin, Nurse Joy when you get there."

"Wait, you have a cousin that does the same thing?"

"Yeah, in fact all Pokecenters are run by Nurse Joys. Even though we're all cousins, we all look identical, so it's hard for some to tell us apart."

"Wow. That's incredible," Alisha said.

"At least we'll be seeing familiar faces in every town then," Seratus added.

"Yeah. Now let's continue on to Violet City," Alisha said anxiously .

"Yeah. Violet City to challenge the gym leader there. With Totodile and Hoothoot, nothing will stop me from getting that badge."

With their final goodbyes, Seratus and Alisha left the Pokecenter, and headed north to Violet City.


	3. Chapter 3 Double Trouble

**Chapter 3: Double Trouble **

After capturing Hoothoot, Seratus and Alisha begin their trek north on Route 30. "I can't wait to find a trainer and battle him," Seratus said.

"Calm down, Seratus. We should take our time and just go at a nice pace so we both get some training in. You're not the only one challenging the Violet City gym leader."

"Who is the Violet City gym leader?"

"It's not on the map. It just has the Johto region and where the gyms are, but no information on the gym leaders and the pokemon they use."

"That doesn't matter cause we're gonna win."

"That's right. With you and your pokemon and me with mine, we're gonna be tough to beat."

"While we're out here, we should get some training in."

"Agreed. Come on out, Marill."

"Marill," she cried as she stood, waiting for Alisha to speak again.

"Hoothoot, come on out"

"Hoot," she cried as she perched herself on Seratus's shoulder.

"Hoothoot, you and I are going over by that tree to do some training," he called to Hoothoot.

"And Marill, you and I are going to the other side and work on some things."

Both pokemon cheered as Seratus and Alisha slowly walked away from each other and headed for their respective trees. Alisha approached the massive tree that covered a lot of ground with its shade, making the warm day feel bearable as a cool wind swayed the leaves to and fro. Seratus stood in the sun by the tree, careful to not enter the shade as he wanted the full heat to help him with his concentration.

"Ok, Hoothoot, are you able to fly without trouble?" He asked.

":HOOT!" She cried as she took to the air.

"Great," he replied, "roll to the right."

Hoothoot's round body spun as she turned to the right and kept the same motion. Seratus continued to call out various aerial stunts to keep Hoothoot moving through the air.

"Ok, Marill. We're gonna work on some combos."

"Marill!" she yelled flexing her short stubby arms and wagging her tail.

Alisha bent over picking up a small rock, "I'm gonna toss this and I want you to use tail whip and knock it back."

"Marill," she said as she turned her body ready to intercept the rock. Alisha gentle tossed it in the air, and Marill steadied her tail, and quickly swing using the ball at the end of her tail to hit the rock back to Alisha.

"Great job!" Alisha cheered as she jumped to catch the rock. "Let's do that again, except I want you to use tail whip to hit up and then use tackle on it."

She tossed the rock again, and Marill sat there waiting for it. The rock was closely approaching and Marill tail whipped the rock straight up. Immediately after bouncing the rock up, Marill quickly tried to turn back upright and tripped as she tried to jump falling forward on her face. "Mar….ill," she said weakly as the rock came down crashing onto the back of her head.

"Oh no!" Alisha cried running over to the fallen Marill. Are you ok?" she asked picking Marill up and holding her.

"Marill," she said trying to jump out of Alisha's arms. "Marill Marill," she continued picking up the rock, tossing it up herself and connecting with tail whip. This time, she turned without a stumble and then jumped high into the air using tackle on the rock.

"Oh my," Alisha said surprised. "That was great. Think you can do that one more time?"

"Marill!" she yelled repeating the procedure.

While Alisha and Marill sorted out the tail whip-tackle combo, Seratus was training hard with Hoothoot on using her aerial movements to help them with battling.

"Hoothoot, do you think you could do what Marill just did?"

"Hoot…hoot?" she questioned turning her head.

"Can you use tackle on a stick in midair if I throw it up?"

"Hoothoot!" She said nodding.

"Ok, get ready," he said as he threw a small stick. End over end it flew, and Hoothoot quickly went into a nosedive, catching the stick, hitting it with her body and knocking it back to Seratus. "Alright! Let's do that one more time.

"Hoot!"

Seratus threw the stick a bit harder this time as he hoped Hoothoot could catch up to it. She turned into the stick, but the speed was quicker than she anticipated and the stick sailed through the air hitting a young boy in the back of the head.

"OW!" he cried out quickly rubbing the back of his head. He turned and saw Seratus and Hoothoot and yelled, "Hey! Watch where you throw things!" He was a short kid with dark hair. He wore a yellow shirt with denim shorts. He wore his blue hat backwards as he stood cool and ready after yelling his attack.

"Sorry. Hoothoot and I were training to prepare for the Violet City gym leader."

"You must be a rookie trainer then. Well then, I challenge you to pokemon battle."

"What? Seratus questioned.

"That's right. A battle, since you did whack me with a stick. It will be you and Hoothoot against me and my awesome Rattata.

"Fine by me. My name's Seratus."

"Mine's Joey, and don't you forget it. Now come on out Rattata."

"Ratta," the small purplish mouse called out.

Seratus readied his Pokedex, "Rattata, the mouse pokemon. Living wherever there is food available, it ceaselessly scavenges for edibles the entire day."

"Ok, Hoothoot. We can beat them!"

"Hoot!"

"Rattata, use quick attack!" Joey called out. Rattata turned into a purple blur and raced towards Hoothoot.

"Hoothoot dodge it," Seratus countered. Hoothoot rolled his body over forcing the Rattata to miss his target. "Now turn and use tackle." Hoothoot quickly turned tackling Rattata from behind.

"You got lucky. Rattata, use your own tackle." Rattata popped back up and jumped into the air using his shoulder to tackle Hoothoot and she fell to the ground sliding on the dirt as she kept rolling. "Now finish it off with quick attack!" Joey cheered. The Rattata raced toward the defenseless Hoothoot.

"Hoothoot, you must use tackle again. Use your legs to spring from the ground forward as Rattata approaches." Hoothoot dug her talons into the dirt and watched carefully as Rattata approached. "Now!" Hoothoot sprung forward quickly using her head to tackle against Rattata's quick attack as both pokemon bounced off of each. Each pokemon was laying on the ground struggling to get up.

"Come on Rattata! You can do it."

"Hoothoot, try to get up."

Both trainers cheered as the pokemon still struggled to get up. Rattata raised his head and then let it drop as he fainted. Hoothoot used her wings to push her body up and while she was slow standing, never faltered.

"Return Rattata!" Joey yelled calling back his pokemon. "That Hoothoot is pretty good."

"Thanks Joey. And thank you, Hoothot," Seratus replied as he picked her up. "Your Rattata was really quick. I was not expecting to see speed like that ."

"Well, my Rattata is better than any Rattata in the world, and one day he's gonna be better than any pokemon out there."

"Yeah. I feel the same way with my pokemon. Would you want to have lunch with us? That battling worked up an appetite."

"Sure.

They quietly snuck their way next to Alisha as she continued training Marill.

"So, that's a Marill," Joey remarked.

"Yeah. Alisha has been working hard with her on battling techniques."

"OK! Now Marill, use tail whip to throw yourself in the air and tackle that flower!" Marill, used her tail as a spring thrusting her round blue body into the air. At the peak, she turned into a nosedive bouncing off the bell like flower.

"Bell!" the flower cried as she turned her attention to the little blue mouse. She had a bell-shaped head with a root-like body with two leaf-like arms. The feet were nice and rooted.

"What is that?" Alisha cried out reaching for her Pokedex.

"Bellsprout, the flower pokemon. It plants its feet deep underground to replenish water. It can't escape its enemy while it's rooted."

"BELL!" she cried flaying her leafy arms. Suddenly two long green whip like vines whipped through the air barreling towards Marill.

"OK Marill, she seems to be rooted so tail whip those vines, and then tackle that Bellsprout. Marill turned her body in anticipation of the vines flying through the air. Quickly Marill turned using her tail to hit both vines and direct the attacks back towards the Bellsprout. As each vine snapped back into the face of Bellsprout, Marill quickly followed by using her body to topple the flower pokemon.

"That's awesome, Alisha. Try catching it now," Seratus cheered as he sat there watching.

"Right! Go pokeball" and she twisted her body and threw the red and white ball to Bellsprout. The ball fell to the ground rattling for a few moments as the red light flickered. Soon the light went out and the ball stood still. "Yes! I caught a…" she tried saying as the Bellsprout broke loose.

"BellSPROUT!" she cried as she used her vine whip attack again, wrapping Marill up in her grip.

"No, Marill!" She cried out. "Try using water gun to shift the weight." Marill's mouth opened and a gush of water poured out thrust the caught pokemon into the air dragging Bellsprout with it, detaching her from the ground. "Now Marill, try to spin out of the vine whip and tackle Bellsprout back into the group. Marill spun forcing Bellsprout to loosen her grip momentarily, but it was all that Marill needed to lunge from the vines to make a direct hit on Bellsprout . Both pokemon plummeted to the ground as Marill kept digging her head into Bellsprout's head and they both landed with a terrible crash.

"Now try it," Joey cheered.

"Ok," she answered throwing the pokeball back at the fallen Bellsprout. "Marill! You ok?"

"Mar…ill" she answered in a daze as she fell over.

"Return! You did great today, Marill. Thank you," she encouraged Marill as she shifted her attention back to the rocking pokeball. The light flickered off and the ball stopped, and for several moments she just watched.

"Alright!" Seratus cried out, "You just caught a Bellsprout.

"Yeah!" Alisha answered as she walked over to pick up the pokeball. "I have a BELLSPROUT!"

"Joey and I were getting hungry after out battle and we figured you also worked up an appetite training."

"Yeah I did. I'll get my back and we can make some lunch for everyone." Alisha walked over to her green bag and opened a pocket with some bread and pulled out a container of meat. "I know it's not much, but I can make us some sandwiches."

"That would be great," Joey replied. "Here, I can share some of my food as well." He reached over into his Rattata bag and pulled out three bottles of water. Here, Seratus and Alisha, I have a bottle for each of you.

"Thanks, Joey," Seratus replied as he reached into his own bag pulling out some chips and dividing them between the three of them.

"OK! The sandiwiches are ready."

"Where are you two heading?" Joey asked as he chewed a bite of his sandwich.

"Violet City," Alisha answered.

"To challenge the gym leader," Seratus added as he took a swig from his bottled water.

"You're about a day away from there. That's why Rattata and I were training so we could take on Falkner."

"Falkner?" Seratus asked with interested.

"He's the gym leader, and specializes in bird pokemon.

"Well, Hoothoot and Totodile should be able to match up to him.

"With Marill and now, Bellsprout, I'll do my best and beat him as well."

"Well, don't get too cocky. I thought my Rattata was fast, but his pokemon are much faster. Faster and stronger."

"You want to come with us?" Alisha asked.

"Nah! You two go ahead. Rattata and I will train here until we're stronger than ever before challenging Falkner."

"Alisha, we should probably get going if we want to arrive there by tomorrow evening."

"I agree. Thank you, Joey for being able to join us."

"Yeah, thank you and sorry about the stick to the head."

"Ah, that's no problem. How often does a flying stick create a new friendship," Joey replied chuckling. "Anyways, good luck on your journey, and good luck with Falkner."

"Thanks," they both replied as they picked up their bags and slowly walked off.


	4. Chapter 4 Panic at the Pagoda

**Chapter 4: Panic at the Pagoda**

The purple sky lay across the horizon in front of the duo as they entered Violet City. The sun was already set, but a small amount a light illuminated the gloomy-like city. As they kept walking, the first building in sight was the Pokecenter.

"Hey, Seratus. Let's go ask Nurse Joy about Violet City," Alisha asked walking ahead to the glass doors.

"Good idea. We can get some rest before we challenge Falkner."

As they both walked into the door, Nurse Joy stood at the counter. She looked exactly like the Nurse Joy the trainers met at Cherrygrove City, and next to her a Chansey. "Good evening. How can I help you?"

"Oh, Nurse Joy," Alisha started, "We just arrived and wonder if there was anything worth seeing while we're here."

"Trainers preparing to face Falkner are you. Well, before you challenge him, you could get some extra training at Bellsprout Tower."

"Bellsprout Tower?" they both asked.

"It is a large tower home to sages that revere Bellsprout. Many of them use Bellsprout to battle trainers on the upper floors. There is red-hair trainer that is about to head over there. Why don't you go with him and learn more about the tower as you train?

"Red-hair?" Alisha asked surprised.

"Silver," Seratus added under his breath. The flashback of how Chikorita made quick work of his Totodile ran rapid through his mind. "I hope that Chikorita is doing ok."

"There he is," Alisha pointed to Silver. Silver had just come out of the restroom and still held a cold look in his eyes.

"I see you two finally caught up," he said with a sneer. "I take it you're also heading over to Bellsprout Tower to train your pathetic pokemon?"

"Our pokemon are not weak," Seratus added.

"Seratus, please settle down," Alisha said wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "You need to relax." She turned her attention to Silver, "If our pokemon are pathetic, then you have no problems heading out together then?"

"None whatsoever," he said. "This will just give me a chance to show off my strong pokemon. Plus, I can use Chikorita to show how weak Bellsprout reall is," he added chuckling a little.

Seratus could feel Alisha tense her arm, "What did you say about Bellsprout?" Alisha said snarling.

"Look, babe…"

"Don't call me babe. The name is Alisha."

"Well, whatever. As far as grass types are concerned, my Chikorita is the best. So, if you have a love for Bellsprout, I suggest you stay here."

"Let's just get going," she growled.

The trio walked out, and in the few minutes that they talked, the stars were already sprinkled across the black sky. Street lamps lit the path, and Silver took a small lead, while Seratus and Alisha fell back walk side by side. After walking north a few yards, they could make a faint glow of light peaking over the black sky.

"Welcome to Bellsprout Tower," an older man said. He was a stout man with an ashy hair that was trimmed closed to the scalp. He wore a purple robe topped with a prayer bead necklace. In a serene voice he continued. "Have you come to learn about the holy Bellsprout?"

Silver started his answer, "No. I came to challenge the Bellsprout trainers to make myself stronger. I do not want a history lesson on why you believe in training weak pokemon."

"Well then," the man said. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but if you feel that way, work your way to the top where Elder Li is waiting."

"Well, losers," he went on. "I guess this is good bye." Silver walked on in.

"What about you two? What do you want?"

Seratus stepped forward, "Well, I want to be the very best Pokemon Master. But to that, I know I need to work hard with my pokemon and I want to learn everything I can about pokemon."

Alisha added "I also want to do that. And since I caught a Bellsprout, maybe you could tell us more about this tower and its important."

"Very well," he said with a smile. "Legend has it that long ago a hundred-foot tall Bellsprout once stood at this exact spot. In fact, many legends suggest that sway pillar that support the tower is the Bellsprout that the sages of old built around. In honor of that Bellsrpout, we sages work very hard with Bellsprout in order to understand them. The pillar absorbs the shocks from the intense battles we offer to trainers who wish to test their skills against Elder Li. The pillar also guards against earthquakes as we had a massive one a couple of generations ago. The tower stood proud giving the people hope that no matter how much it bends, it will not break. So, in part of that, we must allow for some bending in our lives, but at the same time, we cannot afford to be broken.

"That sounds incredible," Alisha said still in awe.

"I'm not sure I get it," Seratus said puzzled.

The sage reached into his pockets and pulled out two similar looking sticks. "One stick is flexible and the other is rigid. Look at the flexible stick," and he pulled the ends to each other. The tension forced an arc like shape and he released it back.

"But couldn't you do that with the other stick as well?"

"You try it then," he said handing the Seratus the stick. "Bend it and see what happens."

Seratus slowly tried to fold the stick, and before putting too much pressure on it, a loud crack echoed of the black sky and he stood there puzzled. "Why didn't it bend like the other stick?"

"Just as each stick is different, so is each person. Some people are too stern and break at the slightest bit of force while others can bend and bounce back."

"I think, I get it," Seratus said having a better understanding.

"Very good. Please proceed."

As they entered the tall wooden pagoda, thunderous roars echoed off the thin walls as trainers showed off their pokemon. "Where are the battles occurring," Alisha asked.

"They seem to be upstairs," Seratus answered. "The stairs are over there."

"Right. Let's get to training grounds."

They scurried over the stairs and quickly hopped up until they arrived at the second floor. Trainers, many with Bellsprout were battling with one another. In some cases, some of the pokemon looked as if they didn't belong to anyone. As they scanned the area, two sages walked slowly t o them.

"May we interest you in a pokemon battle?" one of them asked.

"I would be delighted," Alisha replied.

"Yeah, I'm ready to take anyone on," Seratus added.

"Please follow us then." They followed the sages to a small area by the corner. "We will battle here. Come on out Bellsprout.

"You as well, Bellsprout," the other sage said.

"You come out too, Bellsrout," Alisha shouted.

"Totodile, come on out."

"Bellsprout, use vine whip," the sage across from Alisha said.

"Bellsprout, you use vine whip as well." Both Bellsprout extended their vines slapping each other. "Now use wrap."Alisha's Bellsprout took her vines and began squeezing the other Bellsprout. "Now pick it up and throw it down."

"Bellsprout, counter with vine whip." Before the Bellsprout could strike again, Alisha's Bellsprout had thrown the other Bellsprout onto the ground.

"Great job, Bellspout."

"You battled well and with love," the sage responded. "You may see Elder Li."

"Is it ok if I wait on Seratus?"

"Yes."

"Seratus, are you ready?" the other sage asked.

"We are."

"Bellsprout, use vine whip."

"Totodile, dodge those vines and use water gun." Totodile side-stepped the first vine, twirling to dodge the second readying his head and shot a jet of water toward Bellsprout.

"Dodge it," he said. The Bellsprout twisted its body allowing the water pass through.

"Oh no," Seratus cried.

"Use vine whip again."

"Totodile, you have to trust me, but wait for it."

The sage looked at Seratus carefully, "You do realize grass has the advantage over water."

"Advantage doesn't matter. It's about heart and trust. And with that, Totodile and I will win."

"TOTODILE!" he said proudly.

"Ok, Totodile. As soon as that vine gets close, use bite" Totodile's mouth opened and the vine went in, and Totodile chomped on it.

"Bell bell" Bellsprout shrieked as it tried to retract the vines.

"Hold on for now." Totodile was being pulled through the air toward the Bellsprout. "Now let go and use scratch." He opened his mouth and took his claw and scratch the Bellsprout.

Bellsprout fell over. "Good job, Bellsprout. And congratulations, Seratus. You and your companion have earned the right to see Elder Li. He may not battle immediately as there is already a trainer up there.

"Silver," they both replied.

"Thank you for a good battle," Alisha said.

"Yeah, thank you," Seratus added.

"Good luck and may you grow a deep bond with your pokemon."

Alisha and Seratus walked over to the last set of stairs and worked their way up. As they reached the top, Silver and Chikorita were battling a much older man. He wore the same purple robe the other sages wore with a thinner, short yellow cloth that draped over the right shoulder. Pokeballs lined the yellow sash.

"You battle way too harshly," Li said.

"I don't care. I beat you," he turned and saw Alisha and Seratus "Great, more losers. I'm outta here," he continued as he walked bumping through the two trainers.

"Are you the elder, Li?" Alisha asked.

"I am. I see you were granted access, but I'm afraid you're going to have to wait for that battle."

"We understand," Alisha said.

"How did his Chikorita look?" Seratus asked.

"Chikorita seems to have already have that cold look like her owner. I saw his eyes were cold when battling and Chikorita held the same look."

"I can't believe I failed her."

"Do not worry, my child. Midnight is nearly upon us."

"What happens at midnight?" Alisha asked.

"In addition to Bellsprout, we also have Gastly that haunt the tower at night.

"Gastly?" Seratus questioned. At that moment, screams echoed from beneath.

"It seems they are already here," Li said. "Let us go down." Li lead the two back down the stairs. It was vacant save for the few sages that remained and a lonely trainer facing floating purplish blob.

Seratus reached for his pokedex, "Gastly, the gas pokemon. With its gas-like body, it can sneak into any place it desires. However, it can be blown away by wind."

"Chikorita, use razor leaf." Chikorita geared her head back using the leaf one her head to send out three tiny leaf blades at Gastly. The leaves cut through Gastly barely doing any damage.

"Gast," it said as it floated near the Chikorita with a long pink tongue dangling. When it got close, its body expanded covering her head in the toxic gas. Within a few seconds, Gastly returned to the other side.

"Use vine whip." Chikorita could not move.

"She's paralyzed from Gastly's lick attack," Li shouted to Silver.

"Fine, then I guess I don't have much of a choice," Silver replied as he reached for a pokeball.

"Looks like he's calling back Chikorita," Alisha said smugly.

"Wrong again, bozo. POKEBALL, GO!" He yelled as he threw the ball at Gastly. The ball went through the pokemon landing behind it and sucking it in from behind. The light flashed red and it tumbled back and forth. Silver held a sly grin on his face as the pokemon appeared to be caught.

"Gastly, gast," it said escaping from the pokeball. Suddenly many more Gastly appeared behind it forming a wall. Others appeared through the floor.

"Gastly," one said as it appeared behind Alisha.

"AAHHH!" she squealed trying to get away from it.

Seratus turned to the Gastly with its tongue dangling saying, "Aww. He just wants to have a licking contest." Seratus extended his tongue trying to lick the Gastly.

"Child, don't do that," Li responded as he saw Seratus licking Gastly. "They're also poisonous."

The tongue touched the noxious gas quickly paralyzing Seratus. "That's weird. I can't feel my legs," said as he fell over.

Alisha ran over to Seratus, "Are you an idiot?" Why in Johto would you lick a Gastly?"

"It…seemed…li…li…like...a...good …idea," he stuttered. "They… looked… like… they… wanted… to… play."

"You dork."

"Sages. It seems we have no choice. We will have to battle them," Li rallied.

There was a loud thud from the roof. Footprints echoed as each stepped quickly moved through the floor, quickly coming down the stairs. A teenage boy appeared. He had on a dark blue robe covered with a powder blue jacket. He dark blue matched his dark robe, and it was long in the front covering the right side of his face. He had na intense look in his deep blue eyes.

"Who is that?" Alisha asked in a semi squealing voice.

"Pidgeot, use whirlwind," he said in a calm tone.

Pidgeot cawed spreading its wide wings and flapping them intensely knocking the Gastly against the wall. Pidgeot still tallnearly reaching the height of her owner. It had a dark brown body with a white chest. A black line cut underneath the eye trailing down outlining the cheek. Four long feathers comb over the back. The outer feathers were red while the inner feather had the whitish color. Silver seeing this as an advantage threw another pokeball at the Gastly, and soon one fell to the ball. It flashed red and tumbled, but to no avail. Silver had caught his Gastly.

"Well, that was fun. I'll be taking this," he said as he picked up his new caught pokemon. "I assume you're Falkner?"

"That's right. Now leave so I can get these Gastly out of here."

"I want a gym battle," Silver demanded.

"You'll get one tomorrow, now please get out of the way or I'll have Pidgeot blow you away as well."

"Fine. But you better be ready. I don't have time to wait for challenges."

"Pidgeot, blow the Gastly out the window.

Pidgeot took precise aim and used whirlwind to carefully move the Gastly outside.

"Thank you, Falkner," Li said.

"Yes, thank you thank you," Alisha squealed as she hugged Falkner.

"Uh…it was not a problem," he replied trying to push Alisha off.

"So that's a Pidgeot?" Alisha asked finally calming down. She reached for her pokedex.

"Pidgeot, the bird pokemon. It is the evolved form of Pidgeotto. Its well-developed chest muscles make it strong enough to whip up a gusty windstorm with just a few flaps."

"My friend and I are here to challenge you as well."

"Is that right? Where is your friend?"

"Seratus is right here," she looked over forgetting Seratus was still paralyzed from licking Gastly.

"Let me guess. He tried to lick Gastly?"

"How did you know?"

"There's always one in every group that tries that trick. They usually don't last too long."

"Yeah," she said embarrassed.

"Don't worry, my Pidgeot can take him to the pokemon center. Pidgeot, can you take these two there?"

"OT!" she squawked. She knelt down by Alisha allowing her to climb on before flying over to Seratus and picking his limp body up with her talons. She flew out the window, and closely following was Falkner who was running after them.

"Time to fly!" He exclaimed as he jumped flipping out a glider and gliding behind Pidgeot as they flew to the Pokecenter. "How do you like flying?"

"I think it's wonderful," she said. "You do this all the time."

"Yeah. It's a great way to understand bird pokemon better.

Soon they arrived at the pokecenter, Pidgeot had to let Seratus go before landing and he tumbled on the path in front of the door. Alisha quickly jumped down racing to Seratus, trying to get him in. Falkner followed, helping Alisha pick up Seratus and carrying him to Nurse Joy.

"Nurse Joy! We have another one!"

"We should really make a sign that says no licking Gastly. Thank you, Falkner."

"He should be ok. I'll be at the gym all day when you want to come to battle."

"Thanks."

Nurse Joy took a small yellow pill and stuck in Seratus mouth. "Since he can't swallow, it has to dissolve in his mouth. This should take about twenty minutes to take effect."

"What is that?"

"It's a paralysis pill. It works well on pokemon and seems to do well on humans as well. You might as well get to sleep and get a good rest. Falkner won't be up for quite some time. Not since he seems to be at Bellsprout Tower every night protecting it from the Gastly."

"OK, Nurse Joy. Thank you very much."

"Not a problem."

"So, Seratus, are you feeling better?"

"I can't feel my toes still."

Alisha took her foot, raised it and brought it down crashing onto Seratus's foot.

"OW!" He yelled rubbing his foot.

"I bet you're feeling that," she said giggling. "Tomorrow I get to see Falkner again. Isn't he dreamy?"

"I'm paralyzed by a ghost pokemon, and you get a crush. Most people call that a productive day," he said sarcastically.

"You're just jealous that he's cuter."

"I am…not. I like to be able to see out of both eyes."

"Just go to sleep. I'm trying to dream of him."

"Fine."


	5. Chapter 5 Flying Showdown with Falkner

**Chapter 5: Flying Showdown with Falkner**

"Chansey!" she yelled pushing a small breakfast cart to Seratus and Alisha.

"Oh," Seratus said while yawning, "remind me to never do that again."

"How are you feeling?"

"Aside from being stiff and possibly a broken toe, I think I can manage."

"Chansey Chanse," she continued as she pulled the lids from the plates. Aromas from French toast, scrambled eggs and hash browns quickly filled the room.

"That smells so good," Alisha commented.

"It even looks better," Seratus added. "Thank you Chansey."

"Thank you," Alisha added.

Just as quickly, the two had the food gone. Nurse Joy walked out, "Was everything ok?"

"Yes, Nurse Joy. It was delicious," Alisha replied.

"Very much so."

"That's good. Li felt bad about what happened last night, and he asked if you could see him before facing Falkner."

"Yeah, plus, I think the stairs will be a good way to stretch out," Seratus said.

"Last night did get a little chaotic."

"That happens every night," Nurse Joy resumed. "Every night after midnight, the Gastly come out to play. Since they are mostly gas, Falkner shows up with his bird pokemon and blows the Gastly away. Anyway, you have a long day ahead of you with the battle with Falkner and all. "

"Yeah, you're right. We should get going and see Li," Seratus replied.

"Thanks for everything again, Nurse Joy," Alisha said.

Violet City felt different in the late morning. The sun reflected off the lake and small white puffy clouds floated overhead matching the reflection in the lake. As they casually walked to Bellsprout Tower, Edler Li stood at the entrance. "Ah. I see you received my message. I apologize we could not battle last night. I usually teach a valuable move to pokemon in honor of their victory, but I could tell from your attempt to play with Gastly, that you have a strong and pure heart, so I would be honored in teaching one of you this move. Bellsprout come on out."

"Bell bellsprout," it replied.

"Alisha, why don't you allow Bellsprout the honor of learning this move?" Seratus said.

"Are you sure, Seratus?"

"Yes. I think it's only right that this move is taught by a Bellsprout to another Bellsprout."

"Thank you. Come on out, Bellsprout."

Both Bellsprout looked at each other as Li positioned a large pole in place. "Bellsprout, use cut." Bellsprout extended a long vine, whipped it back and pulled it forward in a blur slicing through the wooden pole.

"Nothing happened," Alisha commented.

Suddenly the top half slid down the cut angle. "With this move, if a tree is blocking the way, you can use cut to cut it down. You can also use this to generate fire wood for camping."

"Ok, Bellsprout. It's your turn." Alisha's Bellsprout moved into position as Li placed a clean pole. Bellsprout repeated what Li's Bellsprout had done and snapped the pole in half.

"You are ready. May luck be with you as you challenge Falkner."

"Thank you so much, Li," Alisha cheered as she hugged her Bellsprout. "You did great as well."

"Awesome, Alisha. We should be ready to take down Faulkner."

The two turned around and walked away waving to Li. They crossed the bridge and the sun brightly reflected off the lake. Soon they arrived in front of a large dome-like building. There was a sign, "Violet City Gym: Leader Falkner, the master of bird pokemon."

"We're here," Seratus as he and Alisha went through the doors.

Inside two elevators were coming down to the floor. Silver was in one and Falkner in the other one. "You earned this badge," Falkner said to Silver.

"For a gym leader, you're pretty pathetic. Even with the advantage, you couldn't beat my Chikorita," Silver boasted as he snagged the badge from Falkner. He turned and headed for the doors, "He's pretty weak, so you might be able to beat him as well."

"Silver, you're the pathetic one," Seratus replied. "You don't even care for your pokemon and would leave them if they showed any weakness."

"Your point?"

"Just get out of here," Alisha barged in. "We want to have a nice battle with Falkner without your negativity."

"Fine by me," Silver said as he left.

Falkner walked up, "It's good to see you both make it. How many pokemon do you have?"

"Two," they both said.

"Then it will be a two on two," Falkner added. "Challengers will be able to substitute. But before you face me, I have two trainers ready to battle you to see if you are worthy of facing me."

"Why should we do this?" Seratus asked.

"Well. This is an easy way to weed out the weak trainers, so that my pokemon aren't constantly in battle. I've already had a few trainers challenge me, with only one being worthy of facing me. Every gym is set up with some trainers as a test to be challenged."

"I see," Alisha added "It does make sense that you would battle those your trainers couldn't beat."

"Yes, and with the trainers, its just like a gym battle so you get an idea of the gym rules before facing me in a battle."

"Well, I'm ready," Seratus yelled.

"So am I," Alisha added.

"That's great. Abe, Rod, show these two the might of bird pokemon."

"Yes, sir!" they both exclaimed.

"Rod and Seratus will have the first match. Then, Abe and Alisha will have their turn. Good luck to all of you."

"Alright," Seratus said. "Good luck Rod."

"Same to you, Seratus. Go Pidgey."

A small bird popped out flapping its wings. It looked like a small Pidgeot but without the head and tail feathers. "Pidgey, the tiny bird pokemon. It is docile and prefers to avoid conflict. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back."

"Awesome. Go, Totodile."

"Totodile," he growled as he flexed his arms showing off his strength.

"Use water gun." Totodile reared his headed, throwing it forward pushing out a jet of water for Pidgey.

"Dodge it and counter with sand-attack." Pidgey barrel rolled away from the stream and quickly pulled up flapping its wings ferociously kicking up sand. The sand flew right into Totodile's eyes.

"Oh no," Seratus cried.

"Toto….totodile," he screeched as he jumped up and down trying to rub his eyes free of the sand,

"Now use quick attack." Pidgey pulled its wings in turning itself into a flying bullet that struck Totodile before Seratus could say anything.

"Toto….dile," he said as he fell over.

"Totodile is unable to battle. The winner is Rod," Falkner declared. "Alisha, you're up along with Abe.

Seratus ran over to Totodile and picked him up. "You did great," he said as he cleaned the sand out. "Take a good rest," as he called Totodile back to the pokeball. His head stayed down as he walked over to the bench as Alisha and Abe prepped themselves.

"Good luck, Alsiah," Abe said.

"You too," Alisha replied.

"Go, Spearow!"

A small bird pokemon appeared. Spearow was short like Pidgey. Spearos had reddish wings with a lighter shade around the tips. It also had a tannish body with a ruffled brown head. "Spearow, the tiny bird pokemon. It flaps its short wings to flush out insects from tall grass. It then plucks them with its stubby beak."

"Go, Marill."

"Marill Mar," she screeched jumping up and down.

"Spearow, use peck." Spearow went into a nose dive pinpointing Marill.

"Water gun," Marill blasted a surge of water from her mouth hitting Spearow.

"Spearow, shake it off and use fury attack."

"Defense curl." Marill curled up into a tight ball, raising her defense as Spearow continued to peck her with fury attack. "Now use tail whip to knock Spearow back." Marill shot out her tail knocking Spearow off guard.

"Spearow retreat to the sky and regroup." Spearow flew away from Marill.

"Perfect. Now use roll out." Marill rolled and using her tail as a spring launched up directly hitting Spearow. Spearow fell hard to the ground creating a cloud of dust during the landing.

"Spearow is unable to battle. The winner is Alisha."

"YES!, We did it, Marill," she jumped for joy running after Marill.

"Marill marill," she replied as she jumped into Alisha's arms.

"That was fantastic."

"Are you ready to face me, Alisha?"

"Yes."

"Walk this way and stand on this platform."

"Now whaAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT!" she screamed as the elevator suddenly lifted her about fifteen feet in the air.

"I like to battle from an altitude. It gives me the feeling I am flying as my pokemon battle.

"I see. I'm still going to beat you Falkner."

"I like that attitude. Hoothoot, come on out."

"Hoot!" It screeched flapping its stubby wings.

"Bellsprout, I choose you."

"Bell, bellsprout." Bellsprout stood proudly tapping her right foot on the ground.

"This is going to be easy. Hoothoot, use Peck!"

Hoothoot went into a dive and was aiming for Bellsprout's head.

"Wrap it." Bellsprout extended its long vines gripping Hoothoot in midflight.

"Hoothoot, try to barrel roll out." Hoothoot tried rolling hoping to break free.

"Bellsprout, use ingrain and plant yourself deep." Bellsprout dug her root-like feet deep into the soil making sure she won't be able to budge. "Now, slam Hoothoot into the ground." Bellsprout retracted her vines rapidly, quickly bringing Hoothoot down. She released Hoothoot allowing the owl pokemon to crash into the dirt.

"Hoothoot is unable to battle. The point goes to Alisha and Bellsprout.," Abe called out.

"Return, Hoothoot. You battled very well. Pidgeotto, I choose you."

Pidgeotto popped out flapping its wings. It was a smaller version of Pidgeot with a much shorter set of head feathers. "Pidgeotto, the bird pokemon. It is the evolved form of Pidgey, andit flies over its wide territory in search of prey, downing it with its highly developed claws."

"Pidgeotto, use gust." Pidgeotto frantically flapped its wings fiercely creating a huge windstorm.

"Bellsprout, use poison powder." Bellsprout spat out a small amount of purple dust that floated to Pidgeotto.

"Oh no!" Falkner cried. "We need to end this quick, so quick attack." Pidgeotto went into dive, quickly ramming Bellsprout. Bellsprout fell over.

"Bellsprout is unable to battle. Falkner and Pidgeotto take the point."

"Bellsprout, return." She held the ball as Bellsprout returned. "That was a great battle. You fought very well. OK, Marill, it's your turn again."

"Marill." She said as she readied herself.

"Quick attack, Pidgeotto." Pidgeotto went into another dive.

"Roll out, Marill." Marill curled up and rolled into Pidgeotto knocking each other back.

"Come on, Pidgeotto."

"Please, Marill get up."

Both pokemon struggled to get to their feet. Pidgeotto clawed the ground pushing itself up before collapsing. Marill remained bent over leaning on her tiny arms before pushing herself upright.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle. Marill and Alisha are the winners."

"Marill! We did it," she cheered as she picked Marill up.

"Congratulations. You have earned this Zephyr Badge. It was a small white badge in the shape of a pair of wings curled back as if in flight. Now, I need to get Pidgeotto to Nurse Joy to get rid of the poison."

"I understand," Alisha stepped aside. "Seratus, are you ok?"

"No. I'm, glad you won, but it's just disappointing to not even get a chance to battle."

Rod walked over, "If you need an extra punch, there is an area south of here that has some electric types. Plus, it would be good training to prepare for tomorrow."

"Why would you tell us that?" Seratus replied.

"Because, Falkner likes taking on electric types, and well, it's good to see him lose once in awhile."

"Aren't you training under him?"

"I am now, but I was here when his father ran the gym. He left and left behind the pokemon and the gym to Falkner. And suddenly he was the bird pokemon master. His attitude has really changed in the last few years as he as taken his training to a new level. But he needs to be reminded that he does need to know where the ground is every once in awhile."

"So south is a place of electric types?" Seratus double checked.

"Yes, now go and return stronger and better prepared."

They waved good bye to Rod and headed for the door. Upon entering outside, the sun was already low again, and Falkner was returning.

"Falkner," Seratus said. "I will be back tomorrow and I will win that badge."

"That's good. You have spirit, kid." Then, he continued and went back into the gym.

"Seratus, I know you want to catch that pokemon, but let's get some rest tonight. We can leave early in the morning and be back by noon for your rematch."

"That's fine by me. Totodile and Hoothoot could use the rest as well and we'll all be fresh for that match."

They started down the path, heading back to the pokecenter.


	6. Chapter 6 The Shocking Showdown

Chapter 6: The Shocking Showdown

With Alisha sound asleep, Seratus tiptoed behind the chair and slowly crept to the door. "I can't believe I lost to Falkner and she won," he muttered under his breath. The dark clouds hid the stars and blanketed the night sky in complete darkness. Even the wind was eerily silent this night as Seratus found himself scurrying along the dirt path. The lampposts gave a small amount of amber light to help guide woeful trainers who happened to be out at night. He slowly walked by the Violet City gym, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Falkner using a hang glider heading north. "Must be the Gastly again."

After arriving at a small house, he saw a street sign. "Route 32 South, Route 35 West, Route 31 East." He followed the road south and the further he walked the darker it became as the lampposts only went as far as the city limit gates.

"There's a faint light ahead," he said squinting as a tiny glow of light emitted from a patch of grass. As he slowly crept forward, the light soon became brighter and he could a sheep like creature. The light reflected an amber color off the wool. Blue feet stuck out through the bottom matching the blue head. The pokemon had yellow and black striped horns with a matching tail with a small orange ball at the end of the tail. That ball was emitting a small light for the pokemon. "Let's see what the pokedex calls it.

"Mareep, the wool pokemon. Its fluffy wool rubs together and builds a static charge. The more energy is charged, the more brightly the lightbulb at the tip of its tail glows."

"I guess that's the electric pokemon that Rod was talking about. Totodile, I choose you."

"Totodile" he called as he bounced out of his pokeball.

"Water gun." Totodile opened his mouth and shot a jet of water hitting Mareep in the back.

"MAREEP!" it shrilled after feeling the cold blast. It began charging at Totodile leaping to get an extra boost to its tackle.

"Dodge it and use scratch as it rushes by." Totodile quickly jumped to the side using his claws to swipe Mareep across the face causing the pokemon to fall and slide on the dirt. "Water gun again."

"Toto," he exclaimed as he shot forth another jet critically hitting Mareep.

"Pokeball, go!" Seratus cried as he threw the pokeball. It quickly sailed through the air bouncing off the side of the fallen Mareep quickly capturing it. The ball fell to the ground as it rattled as usual with a red flashing light. Seratus held his breath and Totodile stared intently as the ball continued to rattle back and forth. After a few moments, the ball quit moving, "Awesome. I caught a Mareep."

"TOtoDILE!" he exclaimed jumping up and down.

Seratus walked over to Totodile, "You did great, buddy. Take a good rest." He grabbed the pokeball recalling Totodile and put the ball back in his pocket. "Now I need to get back to the pokecenter before Alisha wakes up.

As he entered Violet City, the sky grew faintly brighter with each step. "It's almost morning." He skipped through town, silently whistling. As he arrived at the pokecenter, the dawn was just arriving, and he quietly snuck in.

"Where in the world have you been?" Alisha asked tapping her toe against the hard floor glaring at Seratus.

"I was preparing myself for the rematch. I couldn't sleep, so I went to get that electric pokemon Rod told us about"

"You went by yourself! Why didn't you ask me if I wanted to go?"

"Huh," he stumbled, "it's because you were sleeping?"

"Wrong answer," she replied throwing her fist into his shoulder.  
>"Ow!" he screamed rubbing his shoulder. "What was the right answer?"<p>

"You should know this."

"Huh…is it because its night night time and bugs come out to play."

"That's it. I'm going to have to hurt you."

"Please…don't hurt me. Just tell me, so I know what to do next time."

"No matter what, we do things together."

"Does that include using the bathroom?"

Alisha swung again landing the fist in the same spot, "Idiot."

"Will you quit punching me?"

"Only when you quit being stupid."

"I'm in trouble."

"Are you two all right?" Nurse Joy said coming from the back.

"We're fine Nurse Joy," Alisha replied. We were getting ready to go and have Seratus have his rematch at the gym."

"OK then," she said, "good luck."

"Thanks," Seratus said.

They both left, and the sun was finally in the air. The warm light surrounded them as they quickly made their way to the Violet City Gym. Seratus threw the doors open, " I'm back for my rematch."

Falkner was standing there anticipating the two's return. "I noticed you were successful in catching a Mareep. So, you plan on clipping my pokemon's wing with a jolt of electricity. I take that as an insult."

"How do you know I got a Mareep?"

"Easy. Rod instructs trainers that are struggling to capture a Mareep. I also personally watched your battle from above riding on Pidgeot."

"I'll still find a way to beat you."

"I'm feeling generous today, and considering you're the only trainer I'll see today, I'll battle you without you having to face a junior trainer."

"Still a two on two?"

"Yes. But you should get onto the elevator."

Seratus stood on the platform, and quickly rose about ten feet into the air. "I like it up here," he commented.

"As do I," Falkner replied as he raised his elevator higher.

The gym was opened, and white puffy clouds slowly marched over the light blue sky. A gust of wind was blowing through as Falkner's hair whipped in the wind. Seratus embraced the wind, but flinched as the sudden gust pierced his face.

Alisha sat in the bleachers swooning at Falkner. "The way that hair whips around is just so…" she said shuttering.

" Go Hoothoot." Falkner's Hoothoot quickly perched itself on Falkner's shoulder awaiting battle.

"Hoothoot, I choose you!"

"Hoot!" she shrieked as she took to the air.

"Interesting choice. Hoothoot, use agility." Hoothoot took to the air quickly flashing from one location to another.

"That Hoothoot is quick," he said to himself, "we'll need to wait for him to make a move."

"Now use peck." The quick pokemon grew closer and closer to the still Hoothoot.

"Use foresight to target Hootoot and follow it up with your own peck attack." Hoothoot narrowed her eyes on Hoothoot as it continued using agility. She anticipated its next move and quickly flew to the location with her beak extended crashing hard into Hoothoot as it appeared prepared countering with its own peck attack. Both pokemon quickly fell back into their owners' arms.

"Oh no!" Alisha cried as she saw Falkner holding his Hoothoot.

"Both pokemon are unable to battle. The match is a draw," Rod said.

"You did very well, Hoothoot," Falkner said as he caressed Hoothoot.

"I'm very proud of you, Hoothoot. You deserve a good rest," Seratus said as he held her close.

"That was good, Seratus. But can you beat this pokemon? Dodou, go!"

A twin-headed ostrich like creature emerged. It had a fat round body composed of brown feathers with two smaller matching heads connected by a brown thin neck. It had long tan legs. "Doduo, the twin-bird pokemon. Its short wings make flying difficult. Instead, this Pokémon runs at high speed on developed legs."

"Go, Mareep." Mareep appeared with small static shocks roaming through his wool.

"Doduo, use quick attack and follow up with fury attack."

"Mareep, allow it to get close." Doduo charged quickly, sprinting with both heads down ready to slam into Mareep. "Now, slightly step to the side." Mareep slowly moved over, allowing Doduo to still him. Static shock slowly ran through Doduo's body as she grazed the wool. Now use thundershock."

"Doduo, dodge it." Mareep's horns were surging with electricity, and he concentrated that into a light blue beam that was heading straight for Doduo. Doduo tried moving and remained stiff as electricity flowed through her body. The thundershock connected with Doduo, causing her to topple over.

"Doduo is unable…" Doduo quickly stood up with one head bent below the body while the second head balanced itself high. "Nevermind, Doduo looks ready to go."

"Doduo, shake off that static and use fury attack."

Seratus saw that Mareep's wool had shrunk significantly. "Mareep, counter with tackle."

Both pokemon charged at each other with Doduo alternating heads as she began pecking at Mareep. Mareep countered by turning his head using the horns to take the brunt of the damage.

"Now, use thundershock" Mareep charged its horns electrifying them as Doduo continued her fury attack.

"Oh no. Doduo, quickly jump out of the way." But it was too late. The thundershock directly hit both heads making her topple over again.

"Now finish it with tackle." Mareep charged and rammed the Doduo into the air.

"Doduo, return," Falkner declared as he called back the air born pokemon. That was very impressive handling of a newly obtained pokemon."

"Thank you Falkner."

"Thank you for a wonderful battle. As promised for defeating me in battle, I present you with this, the Zephyr Badge." Falkner extended his hand.

Seratus extended his reaching for the badge. In the process, Seratus gripped Falkner's hand giving it a firm handshake. "I said I was going to beat you and I did that."

"You did indeed," he smiled returning the handshake. He looked over at Alisha who was clapping. "Good luck to both of you."

"Thanks," they both said.

"You're next town you should head to is Azalea Town. Go south through Route 32, then you should come to a cave called Union Cave. That will take you to Route 33 that leads into Azalea Town."

"Thank you," Alisha said writing down small points on her map.

"It's my pleasure. Can I ask a favor of you two?"

"Sure, what it is?" Seratus asked.

"Well, my love of bird pokemon has me keeping in touch with honorable trainers that also have bird pokemon. Since you have a Hoothoot, I would like to have updates from you on how she is doing?"

"Oh. Yeah, I have no problems with that."

"If I also catch a bird pokemon, I'll also let you know," Alisha added.

"Thank you very much. Good luck and if we meet again, expect a rematch from me."

"Yeah, you bet," Seratus answered.

"You have a deal," Alisha added.


End file.
